//------------------------------// // Shape // Story: Luna Wants a Windigo // by Lazauya //------------------------------// “Sister, please, can you just tell me what we’re doing?” Luna whined. “You do this every time! It’s getting frustrating! Is this about the windigo?” “Luna….” “Please, Sister. I implore you to stop this.” Celestia gave a sad sigh. Luna frowned. “I know it’s about the windigo. So just tell me what you plan to do.” “But that’s no fun….” “Really, Sister?” Luna made a mildly angry face. “Is that what this is about? Fun? Because I’m not having fun. So just tell me!” Luna stomped her hoof on the carpet, giving off a unsatisfying thumph. She flipped a stray, tangled mane hair out of her face. “You’re sounding more and more like Discord, and I don’t like it.” “I’m nothing like Discord!” Celestia said, offended. “Well, you spoke of the devil!” a deep voice sounded. The being materialized to the side of the sisters, but they simply glared at him, displeased. “What?” he asked rhetorically. “Discord, please, this is not the time,” Celestia said with a frown. He sighed in new found understanding and popped out of the room with a dim flash. “Sister, is that what you wish to become? I just… what has gotten into you? When did you become so… so… frustrating. I love you because you are my sister, and I will never stop doing so; I find it heartwarming that you want me to be happy. But why can’t you just be how you were? You never teased me before, and now it’s almost unbearable. What has happened to you? You were never like… like this. “Please, sister, try to look at this from my perspective. You haven’t been acting like yourself since I returned from… my time. I just… I don’t know. I understand that it’s presumptuous for me to just ask you to change, and I won’t ask you to change if you see no difference in yourself, but… something’s not right.” Celestia nodded. “Time changes ponies, Luna. I know it’s hard for you, but… please, just understand. I’m who I am now. “And I only tease you because I thought you thought that it was all in good fun. I’m sorry that I’ve offended you.” Luna nodded solemnly, frowning. “I… understand.” She paused, then looked then looked back up at Celestia. “I just… you….” Celestia grabbed Luna and pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry….” Celestia said quietly. She felt her sister’s soft, smooth fur, and she regretted tainting it with her own dusty self. Luna jumped. “Aap!” “What?” Celestia asked. Luna shivered. “Ahhhh…. I don’t like being touched.” “Can you make an exception, just this once?” Celestia asked with a bittersweet smile. “No.” Celestia let go. “Way to ruin the moment….” “We can nod to each other. I always find that comforting.” “Luna….” “So, Sister, are you going to tell me?” “Hm…. Guess first. I’ll give your three tries.” “Sister! I thought we went over this. Just tell me!” “Come on, Luna. Don’t be a spoil sport. I’ll tell you after your last guess.” “Hm. Fine…. Is it… another hunt?” “Nope.” “Is it…. Wait…. Is it an illusion? Do you plan to trick me?” “No, no, of course not. Luna, don’t you think I’m above that?” “Not particularly.” “Well…” Celestia raised her head and glanced from side to side, “Guh. What’s your last guess?” “Hm…. We’ve used maker magic, summoning magic…. I guess that leaves….” Luna thought hard, pulling her hoof to her chin. “I… I don’t know. My last guess is that you’re trying to summon another windigo.” “No.” “So are you going to tell me now?” “In a moment. We’re almost to the archives.” Luna sighed. She knew that it was the least cryptic and most direct thing her sister could say. “Oh…. this? Sister, are you sure?” “Yes.” “Sister, are you sure? I’m not particularly skilled in alchemic rituals or reactions, but I don’t have a good feeling about this.” “Why not?” “Because… you found this text in the banned books section. By the way, why is the banned books section open to the public?” “Tyranny, Luna.” “Right…. But aren’t living transmutations considered Black Magic?” “Some are. Only those where a soul is involved, and windigos don’t have souls.” “But… I thought windigos did have souls.” “They don’t. There’s no need to worry. Besides, Luna, what’s the worst that could happen?” Luna looked down at the ground. “Sister, let’s not do this. This doesn’t sit right with me. I know little of alchemy, it being mostly in the realm Day Magic, but I don’t think this is right. How are we even going to make a windigo? How is that possible?” “Well, if we use structured magic principles, outlining the transmutation with thaumic chalk and have some artifacts for stabilization, then we can mesh the alchemical magic with some polymorphic magic. It might become a bit hectic, but I think the problem with our previous attempts was magic stabilization. Windigos, apparently, are very fragile creatures, so we should go for the most stable method.” “Sister, I’ll be blunt: that went way over my head. Has magic really progressed that far in one thousand years?” “Are you honestly asking that?” “Fair point.” The two sisters sat in silence, lost in each others mane for whatever reason. It could be said that Celestia was spacing out. They both shook off their fleeting infatuation, and instead focused on the matter at hoof. “I still am weary, but I’ll indulge on your wishes for now. What do we need to do?” “First, we need to get the composition of a windigo.” “How are we going to do that?” “Oh, that’s simple. We can just use the windigo that we tried to summon.” Luna scowled. “Why do you still have that?” “For research purposes, Luna. Windigos are very ancient and rare.” Luna eyed her sister with trepidation. “I… guess.” The sisters took a piece of the ethereal flesh. It resembled normal flesh in almost no way whatsoever; it was wispy, and not soggy or slimy. It had a distinct flow to it, almost as if it were an eddied liquid. But not quite so; it was a seemingly astral object: it was gaseous yet solid as well. The best Celestia’s mages could describe it as was…. unreal, emotional, like a beam of light breaking through a storm, or a non-euclopdian box. Both Celestia and Luna themselves were at a loss for words. The being was made out of solid magic; but the magic it used was foreign. It wasn’t an ancient forgotten magic, nor was it a magic of a far away land. It was the magic of sorrow, pain, or anger, in the flesh—literally. Celestia contemplated why her sister would want to befriend such a creature. Then Celestia realized that who was she to question what her sister was into and then she felt really insecure and self conscious and hated herself a little for being so judgmental. But she would totally write in her diary and tell Philomena about it later. The material did not surprise Luna, however. She knew of windigos, and had seen and felt them before. Though that did not take away from her awe. “What is this made out of?” Celestia asked, a little baffled. “It’s emotions—more specifically, the magics associated with emotions,” Luna explained. “Then how can we replicate it?” “I’m not sure…. We just need to decompose it and hope for the best, I guess.” “So we will.” Celestia took an alembic from the table behind her with her magic, and placed it in front of her. “We should start by trying to distill it… it seems…. liquid enough.” Luna nodded. Celestia took the sample and placed it in the first flask. She lit a yellow fire under it and waited. The material quickly took the shape of the container as a liquid. It soon after boiled, and a violent steam coursed through the small nozzle. It condensed into a deep blue liquid that refracted the light passing through it in an odd fashion, creating colloidal scopic images. The precipitate that was left was a clean white; it greatly contrasted the liquid. Celestia looked intrigued, though Luna wasn’t sure what to make of it. Celestia took a sample of the crusty solid and again lit a fire. The fire burned an abyssal purple, as the substance was making the flame endothermic. Luna’s eyes widened. “What’s that? Why is it black?” “It appears to be thaumium necromide. The black is the necromine. Very…. interesting.” Celestia took the lower flask with fluid and dumped a specific amount into a nearby beaker. Luna asked what she was doing. Celestia responded by explaining the process of Modium fusion to determine the presence of certain magical elements. Celestia took the new beaker and lit yet another flame under it after she mixed the Modium in. The new flame was much brighter than the previous, and almost blinded the Night Princess before she looked away. Celestia’s brows furrowed in confusion at the results. “That’s odd.” “What is?” “This liquid is… ionic.” “And?” “It’s at room temperature; this is a strange substance, indeed. In any case, the flesh appears to be an extremely viscous gel, though the magical elements give it strange properties. It’s strange how simple windigo’s are as creatures. In any case, we should have all of these materials on us.” Celestia lightly hooved her forehead. “Oh, no, silly me. We’ll need to visit the magical market. I just remembered we’re out of Morphium.” Luna sighed. “Lead the way.” The two sisters trotted through the Canterlot streets. Ponies rushed by them, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were among princesses. Booths on each side of the street stood in front of businesses, the two complementing each other. The stalls were lined with trinkets, food, tools, and cloths. Luna looked up at the sign. In bold, sans letters it read “DCW”. “DCW?” she asked. “Oh, yeah. ‘Designer Chemical Warehouse’. It’s a great chain.” The aisles of the store were stocked with small vials of various chemicals: compounds of ionic and covalent nature, pure elements, diatomics, solutions, hydrates, and everything beyond and in between. Luna’s mouth was open and her eyes were wide as she stared at the massive collection. Celestia looked around for one of the clerks that worked the store. She walked up to a young mare with a uninterested look on her face. The mare wore a cream coat and and light blue mane. She had a name tag that read “Jasmine”. The mare looked up to see the princess, and became noticeably more glum. “What can I help you today with, Princess?” “I need some Morphium; I’d like to buy it in bulk.” Jasmine took a breath through her teeth. “I think we’re out. We have some poppies on sale. I think there also might be some heroine in the back, if you’re interested.” “Oh, no, Morphium. The element.” “Oh, right this way, Princess,” Jasmine said with contempt. I should have just pretended I was deaf. “Luna, wait here.” Luna was still entranced by the shelves of material. Celestia returned with the chemical, and prompted Luna to follow her. Luna continued to stare at the selection with wide eyes. Celestia carried the solid Morphium on her back, balancing it so all the material was evenly distributed in the bag. She lifted it into the closet and replaced the old bag. With a gentle slice, a corner was cut off. She used a scoop and pulled out a hoofful of material. Celestia scrutinized the grains. After a few moments, she nodded in satisfaction. “What are you doing?” Luna asked. “I’m quality checking it.” “For what? It’s not as if they’d mix something into it.” “I’m making sure it’s the right isotope.” “Sister, I’m not sure it’s actually possib—nevermind.” Celestia drew the circle with her chalk, and put two matrices tangent at opposite ends. Alchemic phrases were mixed with standard magic notation, and, to Luna, things seemed to conflict. Candles were placed at the points where inscribed shapes touched the outside of the largest concentric circle. Gold necklaces and rings embossed with jewels set in piles around the ritual circle. If one asked Luna, they were just strewn about haphazardly. However, asking her sister would yield the opposite reaction. Celestia took the totes of solution and placed them near the center of the transmutation array. She held the mixtures in magical containers as not to accidentally transmute the physical bag. Luna looked over to her sister and gave a worried face. Celestia took no heed, instead focussing on the notes for the alchemical ritual in front of her. “I think I have everything,” Celestia said calmly. Luna again hesitated to reply. She eyed her sister with dismay, contemplating the ethics of what they were doing. “Hello, Luna?” “Yes?” “Are you ready? You probably want to step back.” Luna did so. She stayed clear of the lines. Luna, when she looked into her sister's eyes, saw an innocent giddiness. Luna felt warmed that her sister was happy to help her, but…. Celestia planted her hooves on the outermost ring of the construction, and touched the tip of her horn to the conduit chalk. Celestia’s eyelids fell slowly, and she focussed on a blurry image; her focus was nowhere near that of the warrior monks, but alchemy was a messy art. It required little precision, as the basis was to let the circle contort Celestia's magic for her. She had to give it force and direction. But not instructions, as that was the array’s work. Luna felt an odd sense of deja vu seeing the curtains of light shine up from the ground in orderly fashions. Energy radiated from Celestia, but was pulled back down to the transmutation, as if the reaction was stealing it. The materials in the center were seemingly atomized and reshaped continuously. They flickered in and out of existence, feining reality. Finally, the reaction was over. Celestia’s heart ceased to beat for a moment when she saw what was at the center. Luna’s eyes widened in wonderment. Both sisters glared at each other in utter disbelief. It worked. Lying in the middle of the circle appeared a whole windigo. Celestia, unable to accept the truth with her own eyes, approached the creature. Luna followed in suit. They gazed upon the supernal being. The windigo looked just as Luna had remembered him. But this was not him. Luna was unsure if any other windigo was like him. The windigo’s eyes were closed, and it seemed to have a neutral expression on it’s face. Celestia picked up a hoof, and placed it over the windigo. It’s body felt cold as she expected. And then for the second time, Celestia’s heart raced; but that time it was for a very different reason. She searched, and searched, and searched, but could not find what she was looking for. A sign of life. Celestia’s breathing became uneasy, and sweat started to well up under her legs. She turned to her sister with stunned expression. Luna instantly recognized the common “the windigo is dead” face. “No,” Celestia said flatly. “This can’t be happening. See, Luna, it worked! I got a windigo!” Celestia raised her voice. “No! I have a windigo! I have one! This can’t be happening!” She grabbed a countertop and ripped it off it’s legs with her magic. Glass shattered as it fell onto the floor, and chemicals spilled out. Celestia’s muscles tensed up. She hadn’t realized what she was doing until it was too late. She put the tabletop down, and grabbed an alembic, throwing it through the window in frustration. “Stupid alchemy! Stupid magic. Stupid books,” she muttered to herself. “Sister,” Luna called out. “Please, calm down.” Celestia gave an exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry, Luna, I didn’t mean to snap like that.” “Go lie down for a bit. Don’t worry yourself with having your maids clean this. I’ll have mine on it right away, okay?” Celestia shook her head. “I don’t need to lie down. Thank you, Luna, but I’m fine.” Luna frowned at her sister. “Really, I am.” Luna gave a questioning face. “Okay, Luna, just between you and me....” Celestia put her snout close to Luna’s ear. “It’s that time of the month.” “Okay, sister, I’ll see you at dinner!” Luna quickly teleported out of the room. Glass rained down out of the tower and into the streets of Canterlot. Two guards stationed outside the castle gate rushed to the scene of the broken window. The alembic was nowhere to be found, however. An unlucky ghostly pony was hit with the blown quartz tool and was sent flying even further off into Canterlot. But, as if the unicorn deities of ancient times had blessed it, the expression did not hold true, and all the windigo’s limbs remained attached to it’s body. “Philomena, I don’t know what I did wrong! It should have worked! We created a windigo! We did it!” “Squawk?” “It was dead! But I did it! I don’t know what I did wrong!” Celestia felt the anger begin to well up again, and the mirror of her vanity cracked. “Squawk!” “I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what got into me. I just… what do I do, now? What else is there to do? I can’t let Luna down. I won’t fail.” “Squawk…. Squawk….” “Wait, I have it! I have it! I know what to do.” “Squawk?” “No, not yet. Soon, it will be. Yes, yes, I think this can work!” “Squawk…. Squawk.” “Oh, come now, Philomena, you’re starting to sound like Luna. Loosen up a little.”